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White Night riots

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White Night riots
Rioters outside San Francisco City Hall, May 21, 1979, reacting to the voluntary manslaughter verdict for Dan White
DateMay 21, 1979 (1979-05-21)
TimeEvening
LocationSan Francisco, California
Casualties
140 injured

The White Night Riots were a series of violent events sparked by an announcement of the lenient sentencing of Dan White, for the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk, an openly gay San Francisco supervisor. The events took place on the night of May 21, 1979 in San Francisco.

The gay community of San Francisco had a long-standing conflict with the police department. The struggle against the SFPD turned violent when White, who was himself a former policeman, was given the lightest possible sentence for the assassinations. Initial demonstrations took place at San Francisco's City Hall after the verdict of voluntary manslaughter was announced. The riots caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in property damage.

Later that night, police made a retaliatory raid on a gay bar in San Francisco's Castro District. Many patrons were severely beaten by police in full riot gear. Two dozen arrests were made, and several lawsuits were filed against the San Francisco Police Department.[1] The show of strength from the gay community led to increased political power, which culminated in the re-election of Mayor Dianne Feinstein the following November. In response to a campaign promise, Feinstein appointed a pro-gay Chief of Police, which increased recruitment of gays in the police force and eased tensions.

Background

Opposition to Homosexuality

File:Stonewall Inn 1969.jpg
The Stonewall Inn, taken September 1969. The sign in the window reads: "We homosexuals plead with our people to please help maintain peaceful and quiet conduct on the streets of the Village—Mattachine".[2]
See also: LGBT rights opposition

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and police departments kept lists of known homosexuals, their favored establishments, and friends; the U.S. Postal Service kept track of addresses where material pertaining to homosexuality was mailed.[3] State and local governments followed suit: bars catering to homosexuals were shut down, and their customers were arrested and exposed in newspapers. Cities performed "sweeps" to rid neighborhoods, parks, bars, and beaches of gays. They outlawed the wearing of opposite gender clothes, and universities expelled instructors suspected of being homosexual.[4] Thousands of gay men and lesbians were jailed, fired, or institutionalized in mental hospitals. Many lived double lives, keeping their private lives secret from their professional ones.

Stonewall Riots

Main article: Stonewall riots

By the early 1960s, any bar that served homosexuals risked having their alcohol license revoked.[5]

Raids on gay bars by New York police were frequent. Many bars kept extra liquor in a secret panel behind the bar, or in a car. This helped the bars reopen quickly in case their alcohol was seized.[6][7] During a raid, customers would line up while their identification was checked. Staff members were often arrested.[8] Four other bars in Greenwich Village were closed in late June, 1969.[9]

In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, New York police officers lost control of a raid at the Stonewall Inn (which had been operating without a liquor license)[7], and a full-scale riot ensued. Outnumbered police were forced to lock themselves in the bar for protection, while the mob bombarded the building with bricks and attempted to break down its doors.[10][7] Tensions between police and gay residents escalated, again leading to protests the next evening. Over 2,000 people gathered on Christopher Street, staying until they were broken up by police in riot gear.[7]

Emboldened by their radical actions, Village residents formed new activist groups, such as the Gay Liberation Front. This spawned a movement that would attempt to establish places where members of the gay community could be open about their sexual orientation without a social stigma or risk of arrest and humiliation.[7]

Conflict with San Francisco Police Department

The gay community of San Francisco had a long history of conflict with the San Francisco Police Department. As far back as 1948, gay bars were subject to frequent raids and attempts by the Alcohol Beverage Control Commission to revoke their alcohol licenses.[11] They were accused of serving alcohol to homosexuals, which was a criminal act at the time. Eventually, the California Supreme Court affirmed the right of homosexuals to peacefully assemble, an action which enraged heavily Irish Catholic police department.[11]

Police soon began enforcing an old ordinance that forbade anyone from posing as a member of the opposite sex. In response, the city's drag queens began wearing slips of paper that read "I am a boy." As a result, those who were arrested and pled not guilty often won their cases. Judges, angry at the increasing backlog of cases, began insisting that before a case was brought to trial, the prosecution had to have evidence of guilt. This substantially reduced the number of gays charged with violating this ordinance.[11]

Police continued to arrest gays in large numbers, routinely bringing paddy wagons to gay bars and arresting patrons. Charges were often dismissed, but those arrested often lost their anonymity when newspapers printed the names, addresses and places of employment for those arrested. Police also notified the employer and family of the accused, causing serious damage to their reputations.[11]

In 1964, a New Year's Eve benefit event was held for the Council on Religion and the Homosexual. Police stood outside with large floodlights, and took photographs of everyone who entered the building in an effort to intimidate them. Later, several officers demanded that they be allowed inside. Three lawyers explained to them that under California law, the event was a private party and they could not enter unless they bought tickets. Police promptly arrested the lawyers.[11] Several ministers who were in attendance held a press conference the next morning, likening the SFPD to the Gestapo. Even the Catholic archbishop strongly condemned the actions of the police. As a result, two officers were assigned to smooth relations with the gay community, in an effort to decrease harassment.[11]

By 1971, police were arresting an average of 2,800 men per year on public sex charges; by contrast 63 such arrests were made in New York City.[12] Many charges were dismissed due to entrapment, but several men were given harsh sentences.

On Labor Day of 1974, tension between the gay community and San Francisco police came to a head when a man was beaten and arrested while walking down Castro Street. Police reinforcements suddenly appeared on the street, keeping their badge numbers hidden, and severely beat several dozen gay men. 14 were arrested and charged with obstructing a sidewalk.[13] Harvey Milk dubbed them the "Castro 14", and a $1.375 million lawsuit was filed against the police.[13]

Assassinations

San Francisco City Hall, where the killings took place. The building was heavily damaged during the riots.

Dissatisfied with the workings of city politics, and in financial difficulty due to his failing restaurant business and his low annual salary of $9,600, Supervisor Dan White resigned from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on November 10, 1978.[14]However, after a meeting with the Police Officers' association and the Board of Realtors, White announced that he wanted his seat back. Liberal Supervisors saw this as an opportunity to end the 6-5 split on the Board that had blocked many progressive initiatives that they sought to introduce. After intense lobbying by Supervisors Milk and Silver, as well as State Assemblyman Willie Brown, Moscone announced that he would not be reappointing Dan White.[15][16][17]

The next morning, White picked up the .38 Smith & Wesson revolver that he had used as a police officer. He put ten extra bullets into his coat pocket, and went to City Hall. After sneaking in through a basement window to avoid the metal detectors, White proceeded to the office of Mayor George Moscone. After a brief argument, White shot the Mayor once in the arm, and then three times in the head.[18]

White then walked to the office he used to use, reloading his gun, and asked Milk to join him. Then-Supervisor Dianne Feinstein heard gunshots and called the police. They found Milk on the floor, shot five times.[19]

Verdict

On May 21, 1979, Dan White was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter after his assassination of both Mayor Moscone and Supervisor Milk on November 27, 1978.[20] The prosecutor asked for a finding of first-degree murder with "special circumstances", which would have permitted the death penalty under the terms of a recently-adopted capital punishment law in California, Proposition 7.[20] The "special circumstances" in this case were that Mayor Moscone had been killed in order to block the appointment of someone to fill the City Supervisor seat from which Dan White had resigned, and also that multiple people were killed.[20]

White's sentence was reduced due in part to the so-called Twinkie defense, a verdict that provoked outrage in the community. The so-called “Twinkie” defense was presented by a psychiatrist to the jury, essentially saying that too much refined sugar (the type of sugar found in “junk food”) can cause depression and that White may have acted irrationally as a subsequent result of his eating copious amounts of foods containing refined sugars.[21] The composition of the jury was also considered a factor; composed of mostly working class, predominantly Roman Catholic, heterosexual, and white men and women, just like Dan White.[21] This was the segment of the city who felt sympathy for White. The jury heard a tape recording of White’s confession, which consisted of highly emotional ranting about the pressure he was under, and members of the jury wept in sympathy for the defendant.[22]

White represented the "old guard" of San Francisco, who were wary of the influx of minority groups in to the city and represented a more conservative, traditional view that the more liberal forces in the city, like Moscone and Milk, were perceived to be eroding.[23] He was given the most lenient possible conviction, voluntary manslaughter, and sentenced to seven years and eight months in Soledad prison.[1] With good behavior he had the chance to be released after serving two-thirds of his sentence, about five years.[21]

When he heard the verdict, District Attorney Joseph Freitas, Jr., said "It was a wrong decision. The jury was overwhelmed by emotions and did not sufficiently analyze the evidence that this was deliberate, calculated murder."[20] In defense of his client, White's attorney Douglas Schmidt stated that White, "is filled with remorse and I think he's in a very bad condition."[20]

The San Francisco Police Department had, in conjunction with the fire department, raised more than $100,000 to defend White, which earned the anger of the gay community.[24]

Riots

March through the Castro

Today, Dan White was essentially patted on the back. He was convicted of manslaughter—what you get for hit and run. We all know this violence has touched all of us. It was not manslaughter. I was there that day at City Hall. I saw what the violence did. It was not manslaughter, it was murder.

— Cleve Jones, [25]

When told of the verdict, activist and Milk's friend Cleve Jones addressed approximately 500 people that had gathered on Castro Street, telling them of the verdict. With shouts of "Out of the bars and into the streets," Jones led the march down Castro street, with more people emerging from each bar.[26] The crowd circled around and marched through the Castro again, numbering approximately 1,500 people.[26] As the crowd left the Castro, Jones was given the police escort he had been promised several days before.

In a 1984 interview, Jones gave a voice to the feeling in the crowd as they began to group together on Castro Street after news of the verdict spread, stating, "The rage in people’s face — I saw people I’d known for years, and they were so furious. That to me was the scariest thing. All these people I’d know from the neighborhood, boys from the corner, these people I’d ridden the bus with, just out there, screaming for blood."[1]

By the time the crowd reached City Hall, its numbers had increased to over 5,000. Protesters shouted "Kill Dan White" and "Dump Dianne," a reference to Acting Mayor Dianne Feinstein.[20] The handful of police officers that had been on duty were unsure how to handle this turn of events. Police Department leadership, which was used to seeing docile homosexuals walking quietly into paddy wagons during bar raids, were shocked by the idea of an angry gay crowd literally screaming for blood.[26][20]

Violence at City Hall

Rioters causing property damage at the Civic Center Plaza. Burning police cruisers are seen in the background. Image credit: Daniel Nicoletta.

When the crowd from the Castro merged with another crowd from the Polk neighborhood, another predominantly gay district of San Francisco, the battle against San Francisco police began. Before long, several thousand more people had gathered.[27]

Some members of the crowd tore gilded ornamental work from the building's wrought iron doors and then used it to break first floor windows. Several of Harvey Milk's friends monitored and attempted to hold back the crowd, including former lover Scott Smith.[26] A wedge of police appeared on the north side of the Civic Center Plaza, and those attempting to hold back the mob sat down, thankful for the backup. However, rather than reinforcing the monitors, police proceeded to beat them with night sticks.[26]

One young man kicked in the window of a police cruiser, lit a pack of matches, and set the upholstery on fire. After a short time burning, the gas tank exploded. A dozen more police cruisers and eight other automobiles would be destroyed in a similar fashion. Several crowd members threw tear gas, which they had taken from police cruisers.[27][28][20] Riots began to break out with a mob disrupting traffic, smashing windows of cars and stores. Electric trollies were disabled by having their overhead wires pulled down, and violence broke out against the outnumbered police officers. Police Chief Charles Gain, standing inside City Hall, ordered officers not to attack and to simply stand their ground.[26]

Mayor Feinstein addressed the crowd, as did Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver, in attempts to defuse the crowd's frustration with the verdict. Mayor Feinstein said that she had received news of the verdict "with disbelief." Supervisor Silver stated, "Dan White has gotten away with murder. It's as simple as that."[27] She was injured when struck by a flying object.[20] More than 140 others were also injured.[27]

Police Retaliation

After nearly three hours of tolerating shouts from the angry crowd, officers rushed in to quell the riot. Police reportedly covered their badges with black tape, which prevented them from being identified, and beat rioters. Dozens of police officers swept into the crowd. They used tear gas to force protesters away from the building Police were surprised at the resistance they faced from the angry crowd, which attempted to beat them back using tree branches, chrome torn off city buses, and asphalt ripped form the street. When one man ignited the last police cruiser, he shouted to a reporter "Make sure you put in the paper that I ate too many Twinkies.[29] Sixty police officers were injured, and approximately two dozen arrests were made.[28][20][27]

The second stage of the violence was a police raid hours later in the predominantly gay Castro neighborhood.[30] After order was restored at City Hall, a number of SFPD cars carrying dozens of officers headed into the Castro District.[31] Police marched into a gay bar called the Elephant Walk, despite not having orders to do so. They shouted "dirty cocksuckers" and "sick faggots", and proceeded to shatter the large plate glass windows of the bar, in addition to beating patrons. After 15 minutes, police withdrew from the bar and joined other officers who were attacking any gays they could find on the street. The incident lasted nearly two hours.[32][28][30][33]

When Police Chief Charles Gain heard about the Elephant Walk raid, which he had not authorized, he immediately went down to the location, where he ordered his men to leave.[32] Later that night, freelance reporter Michael Weiss saw a group of police officers celebrating at a downtown bar. "We were at City Hall the day [the killings] happened and we were smiling then," one officer explained. "We were there tonight and we're still smiling."[32]

At least 61 police officers and an estimated 100 gays were hospitalized in the course of the riot.[32][34] A civil grand jury convened to find out who ordered the attack, but it ended inconclusively with a settlement covering personal injury claims and damages.[30][31]

Aftermath

Fifteen people sued the police department after the White Night Riots, but most of these suits were settled or dropped.[1]

The next morning, gay leaders convened in a committee room in the Civic Center. Supervisor Harry Britt, who had replaced Milk, along with the more militant gays of the Harvey Milk Democratic Club, made it clear that nobody was to apologize for the riots. In a press conference, Britt told reporters "Harvey Milk's people do not have anything to apologize for. Now the society is going to have to deal with us not as nice little fairies who have hairdressing salons, but as people capable of violence. We're not going to put up with Dan Whites anymore."[35] Reporters were shocked that a public official would condone the violent acts of the previous night. Subsequent attempts to find a gay leader who would apologize proved unsuccessful.[35]

That evening, May 22, would have been the 49th birthday of the slain Harvey Milk. City officials had considered revoking the permit for a rally planned for that night, but had decided against it in fear of sparking more violence. Officials said that the rally could channel the community's anger into something positive.[27]Police from San Francisco and neighboring towns were put on alert by Mayor Feinstein in case of more violence. Cleve Jones coordinated contingency plans with the police and trained 300 monitors to keep an eye on the crowd. Approximately 20,000 people gathered on Castro and Market streets, where the mood was "angry, but subdued." Police stayed at a distance and monitored the crowd.[35][27] However, this time the crowd engaged in a peaceful celebration of Milk's life. Attendees danced to popular disco songs, drank beer, and sang s tribute to Milk.[28][35]

On the same night, approximately 100 people held a demonstration at Sheridan Square in Manhattan for over three hours to protest the verdict. Approximately 20 police officers observed the protest, which began at 8 p.m., but no arrests were made. A candlelight vigil was planned for two days ahead, sponsored by the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Rights and the National Gay Task Force.[27]

Legacy

Effects on LGBT Culture

On October 14, 1979, over 100,000 people marched on Washington for gay rights. Many carried portraits of Milk and placards honoring his legacy.[36] The rally, which was something that Milk had wanted to organize, was instead a tribute to him. According to journalist and author Randy Shilts, the White Night Riots provided a fitting end to the legend of Harvey Milk.[36]

Effects on San Francisco Politics

With the 1979 municipal elections only months after the riot, many feared an anti-gay backlash at the polls.[37] The city's gay community was concerned primarily with maintaining its own political clout.

The expected backlash never came, and the gay community wielded unprecedented power. Although the virtually unknown gay Mayoral candidate David Scott finished third in the election, his showing was strong enough to force Acting Mayor Feinstein into a runoff election against conservative City Supervisor Quentin Kopp. Due to her promises of appointing more gay people to public office and her heavy campaigning in the Castro, Feinstein won enough support from the gay community to put her over the edge and give her a full term as Mayor.[37]

One of Mayor Feinstein's first actions upon being elected was to announce the appointment of Cornelius Murphy, as the new Chief of Police. Murphy, an Irish Catholic, declared that police cars would no longer be colored powder blue, but instead would be repainted as "macho black-and-whites."[37] This pleased the police officers, and restored their confidence in the leadership.

However, Murphy also vowed to maintain the progressive policy towards gays that his predecessor had implemented. By 1980, one in seven new police recruits was gay or lesbian.[37] In one of his last public appearances, outgoing Police Chief Charles Gain stated that he fully expected to see the day when San Francisco would have both a gay mayor and Chief of Police.[37]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Gorney, Cynthia. “The Legacy of Dan White; A stronger gay community looks back at the tumult”. The Washington Post. January 4, 1984
  2. ^ Carter, p. 143.
  3. ^ Edsall, Nicholas (2003). Toward Stonewall: Homosexuality and Society in the Modern Western World. University of Virginia Press. p. 278. ISBN 0813922119.
  4. ^ Adam, Barry (1987). The Rise of a Gay and Lesbian Movement. G. K. Hall & Co. p. 59. ISBN 0805797149.
  5. ^ Carter, p. 29–37.
  6. ^ Duberman, p. 183.
  7. ^ a b c d e Shilts, p. 41-42
  8. ^ Duberman, p. 192–193.
  9. ^ "4 Policemen Hurt in 'Village' Raid: Melee Near Sheridan Square Follows Action at Bar", The New York Times, June 29, 1969, p. 33.
  10. ^ Carter, p. 151.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Shilts p. 53-60
  12. ^ Shilts, p. 62-63
  13. ^ a b Shilts p. 92-93
  14. ^ Shilts p. 250
  15. ^ Shilts p. 254-262
  16. ^ Pogash, Carol. (November 23, 2003). "Myth of the 'Twinkie defense'", San Francisco Chronicle
  17. ^ Weiss, Mike. (September 18, 1998). "Killer of Moscone, Milk had Willie Brown on List", San Jose Mercury News, Page A1
  18. ^ Turner, Wallace (November 28, 1978). "Suspect Sought Job", The New York Times, p. 1.
  19. ^ Flintwick, James (November 28, 1978). "Aide: White 'A Wild Man'", The San Francisco Examiner, p. 1.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Turner, Wallace (May 22, 1979). "Ex-Official Guilty of Manslaughter In Slayings on Coast; 3,000 Protest". The New York Times. pp. A1, D17.
  21. ^ a b c Matthews, Jay. “Dan White Commits Suicide; Ex-San Francisco Supervisor Killed 2 City Officials in ’78. The Washington Post. October 22, 1985.
  22. ^ D’Emilio, John. Making Trouble: Essays on Gay History, Politics, and the University. New York: Routledge, 1992. Page 92.
  23. ^ Fosbuurgh, Lacey. “San Francisco”. The New York Times. July 1, 1984.
  24. ^ Peddicord, Richard (1996). Gay and Lesbian Rights: A Question: Sexual rights or Social Justice?. Kansas City, MO: Rowman & Littlefield. p. 88. ISBN 1-55612-759-6.
  25. ^ Shilts p. 327
  26. ^ a b c d e f Shilts p. 326-332
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h Ledbetter, Les (May 23, 1979). "San Francisco Tense as Violence Follows Murder Trial". The New York Times. pp. A1, A18.
  28. ^ a b c d Corsaro, Kim (May 18, 2006). "Remembering "White Night" - San Francisco's Gay Riot". San Francisco Bay Times. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
  29. ^ Shilts p. 331-332
  30. ^ a b c Davis, Kevin (June 10, 2007, page 13). "Harvey's Marks 10 Years". Bay Area Reporter. Retrieved 2008-01-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ a b Rogers, Fred (2000). "The Gay Pride 2000: Elephant Walk Took Brunt of Police Attack in the Castro". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved 2008-04-10.
  32. ^ a b c d Shilts p. 332-334
  33. ^ Woods, William J (2003). Gay Bathhouses and Public Health Policy. Binghamton, NY: The Haworth Press, Inc. pp. 95, 96. ISBN 1-56023-272-2. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ May, Meredith. “City Hall Slayings: 25 Years Later; From Milk’s Times to our Times”. The San Francisco Chronicle. November 27, 2003.
  35. ^ a b c d Shilts p. 334-339
  36. ^ a b Shilts p. 348
  37. ^ a b c d e Shilts p. 340-342

Bibliogaphy

  • Carter, David (2004). Stonewall: The Riots that Sparked the Gay Revolution, St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312342691
  • Duberman, Martin (1993). Stonewall, Penguin Books. ISBN 0525936025
  • Shilts, Randy (1982). The Mayor of Castro Street: The Life and Times of Harvey Milk, St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0312560850

External links

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